LOGICAL FOOD AND WINE PAIRINGS
Finding a good match isn’t a fine art
Understanding wine is complicated, but finding the right food pairing is even more of a conundrum for many. If you are looking for that mind-blowing pairing, where the flavours and textures are in such perfect harmony that they create a crescendo of new flavours, that requires an in-depth knowledge of both your wine and your recipe — and a bit of luck. But to get something really good, well, it’s not that hard.
Rather than just list a number of classic pairings, I’ve decided to show the logic behind my wine choices with two very simple recipes.
On the menu was a salmon tartare and, as I just returned from Campania, Italy, I tried to recreate the best plate of pasta I ate while I was over there: linguine with anchovies, walnuts and mint. I needed one wine for the tartare and another for the pasta. I could have tried to find one wine to handle both, but what would be the fun of that?
If you are just two people, is that not too much wine? Remember that a good wine will develop over a couple of days, so don’t feel the need to finish them off. Just put the cork back in the bottle, put the white in the fridge, and keep your red in a cool place. I never use any gizmos that remove the air from the bottle or add gas to my half-drunk wines, as I want to see how they develop.
When serving more than one wine, you want to make sure they are different enough to create a contrast. That was easy to do with this menu.
SALMON TARTARE
Salmon is an oily fish, which explains its rich texture. The oils act much like fat in red meat — I have more than once referred to salmon as the T-bone of the sea.
While a richer white wine will work, like a roussanne or ripe chardonnay, having some tannin to bind to the fat makes the meat taste less rich. But don’t start opening up your Napa cabernet sauvignons — you want something more delicate, so it won’t cover up the subtle flavours you add to your tartare.
If all this sounds a bit technical, my rule of thumb for matching fish with wine involves simply looking at its colour. White fish needs white wine. Anything darker pushes it into rosé or light red territory.
My choice was a Burgundy pinot noir, but any pinot noir will work. I find California pinot noir a touch too powerful; I prefer the higher acidity from Burgundy, which adds extra freshness, especially if you add a bit of lemon to your recipe. Other options: Cru Beaujolais, dolcetto, poulsard, Loire cabernet franc.
LINGUINE WITH ANCHOVIES AND WALNUTS (LINGUINE CON ACCIUGHE E NOCI)
Can you serve a white after a red wine? The answer is: of course. If it makes sense to serve a white wine, then it is the right wine to serve.
This dish screams for white wine, since there is no tomato sauce. The anchovies bring not only flavour, but also salt. Salt makes the tannin in red wine turn steely and bitter. But with a white wine, salt brings out the fruit, just like the salt lick and lemon chomp you do after a tequila shot.
To make this dish, I simply fried garlic and some chili flakes in olive oil with the anchovy for a few minutes, then tossed the linguine in the pan with the walnuts and a touch of chopped mint. A little grated Parmesan and black pepper to finish, and presto!
There is no cream sauce, so I didn’t want a white wine that’s too rich. But because olive oil brings a certain fat to the plate, I didn’t want anything too lean.
The answer? As much as the colour of the dish is a guide, provenance matters as well. In Campania, wines made with fiano are an ideal local match, but all I had lying around that was Italian was a Soave. And it worked perfectly. Other options: Chablis, albarino, verdicchio
Much of wine and food pairing is trying things out. As I said, the perfect pairing requires a bit of luck, but a good one is, well, logical.